Formed: 1993From:
San Francisco,
CA,
United StatesLast Known Status: Active

Background

Machine Head burst onto the 90's metal scene serving up 80's style thrash with a contemporary sound that some would even venture to call nu-metal. With former Vio-lence bandmember Rob Flynn handling guitars and vocals, Logan Mader on lead guitars, Adam Duce on bass and Chris Kontos on drums, the band released 'Burn My Eyes' to much critical acclaim. The album became a landmark release for the band and that decade in metal.

Machine Head's lineup would see a few members come and go, and eventually Vio-lence's Phil Demmel would end up back with bandmate Rob Flynn after filling in on guitar on tour for a while.

The band followed up 'Burn My Eyes' with solid sophomore release of 'The More Things Change'. 'The Burning Red', the band's third release, took on a decidely more nu-metal feel. Their fourth release, 'Supercharger', took it a step further, seemingly trying to make that sound more accessible to the masses with Rob singing on certain songs and the overall tempo slower and less heavy than previous releases.

In 2002, the band split with US label Roadrunner Records. Eventually, Machine Head and Roadrunner US worked out their differences and 'Through The Ashes of Empires' was released in the US in 2004, almost 6 months after the European release. The album still charted at #88 on Billboard's albums chart, moving more than 11,000 copies in its first week. While not neccessarily a return to form per se, TTAOE had a much heavier and aggessive sound, while still incorporating many elements of the band's sound as it had evolved over the years.

Ultimate Guitar: After everything the band has been through over the years, did you approach songwriting differently on "The Blackening"?

Phil: I think we kind of carried over a lot of the same process that we did on the last album, as far as the writing for ourselves. We write for ourselves and that's what our fans like. So we stayed with that formula with this. This will be the first time that I was with band from the beginning as far as the writing process is concerned. I joined on the last album and only helped write three songs. They had pretty much 95 percent of the album already written. So with this one, I was involved in the beginning. Robb (Flynn, vocals/guitar) and I really had a chance to kind of go back to a little bit of our history in the early '80s thrash stage. There's a lot of fast riffing, kind of intricate, technical stuff. We kind of wanted to push ourselves. Everybody in the band, we just kind of wanted to push ourselves musically. So what can you expect from "The Blackening"? Long songs! A couple 10-minute songs, a couple eight-minute songs. Just really the most intricate and most technical MACHINE HEAD record to date.

Ultimate Guitar: Talk a little about those 10-minute songs. What are they called and what was the process behind those in comparison with the other tracks?

Phil: The opener is called "Clenching The Fists of Dissent". It's basically 10 minutes because there's kind of an intro at the beginning. What basically started with the song is Dave (McClain, drums) coming up with something. We had like a middle section and it was really rocking kind of double-bass, a cool breakdown. Robb is really good at melodic little breakdowns. As we add the intro to it and the stomping, moshing metal part to it, the songs just tend to grow. We end up adding riffs to it that we don't want to lose. It's just like, "Why? Why do we have to take it out?" We're not a radio-driven band. It's just like, "Man, we like it. That's all that matters. Let's keep it in."

Ultimate Guitar: Were there certain bands that had an influence on the way the band constructs its songs?

Phil: Definitely. There are certain elements to these songs that made us think like that. One comes to mind in the song called "Wolves", METALLICA does come up because it's a staple of metal. But there's a band called MERCYFUL FATE, and they've got timing changes in their stuff. We are really influenced guitar-wise, Robb and I, from some of the stuff that Hank (Shermann) and Michael Denner do. We totally have a couple parts where people are gonna go, "Oh, man, that's totally MERCYFUL FATE right there!"

Ultimate Guitar: Are there any particular solos on "The Blackening" that you spent more time going over and perfecting?

Phil: There's a solo in the song "Halo" that has like a 16-count hold, where it's just me playing. I had originally written a hold for this riff that I had, and then Robb changed it. So it became something else and I was really struggling with it. I came in and actually recorded something for it, and all three guys from the band just kind of went, "Oh, dude, you're so much better than that." So I think the solo in "Halo" I'm pretty proud of.

Ultimate Guitar: Have the other members of the band told you if the songwriting process was much different before you joined the band?

Phil: I'm not too sure. I've heard them say that it's kind of familiar with the way when the first guitar player was in the band. Robb and I, we were both in a band previously, in a thrash band called VIO-LENCE. So we spent a considerable amount of time playing together. When I first joined the band, it was just like crazy how things were just flying out, ad-libbing it. So I think as far as a writing partner, Robb and I might be the closest. That's what makes it different.

Returning to the U.S. after a sold-out tour of Europe, Australia and Japan, Lamb of God is excited to announce a headlining American tour in 2007 with Bay Area Metal Titans Machine Head, modern day metal traditionalists Trivium and France's heaviest metal export Gojira. Having spent the summer of 2006 on the Unholy Alliance Tour with metal pioneer's Slayer and joining Megadeth for the Gigantour tour in September, LOG will kick-off this tour in Dallas on February 16 as they bring their pummeling live show across the U.S. and Canada.

Band drummer Chris Adler states, "When you are a kid, you dream of playing your music in an arena. Once you've done it, you realize how much you miss the power and energy of a kick ass club show. We've been fortunate to be playing some big places as of late, but when we started talking about a spring 2007 Sacrament tour, we agreed (and had heard it repeatedly over the past 2 years from the fans!!!) that it would be incredibly intense for everyone to bring the machine that is LAMB OF GOD back into the clubs.. There is no comparing the connection and shared energy of a club show. The blood, sweat, and beer flying - that's a proper metal show! This is intense music for intense people - we're sick of the seats, the ushers and the lame security guards telling people to calm down!"

"We probably should have left it at that, but in true LAMB OF GOD form we pushed it further. With a little help from our friends, we put an arena show bill together and told our booking agent to put it into the clubs and theaters - and oh yeah, not just any clubs - lets make sure to hit a lot of cities that normally get overlooked. Let's bring the best show we can to the people that have been left waiting for far too long. This is going to be completely out of hand and we can't fucking wait! You have been warned!!!"

TheGauntlet.com recently sat down with Machine Head's Rob Flynn for a very revealing interview that takes you inside the thought processes behind the making and touring of Burn My Eyes and The Burning Red, amongst other things.

Flynn also spills the beans on the sounds, shapes and images that will become Machine Head's spring 2007 release, The Blackening.

Robert Flynn and the boys have done it again, only better! What a fucking joy to mix. Robert has done a brilliant job on the production and there's excellent engineering work from Mark Keaton. It's all there for a killer mix!! What a pleasure. And THE SONGS! The songs can only be described as classic Machine Head at their finest, yet still somehow better.

An original Megaforce-issued VIO-LENCE "Opressing the Masses" press kit - featuring a black leather-like folder with a VIO-LENCE sticker; three glossy promo pictures; three original slides, and a two-page signed statement from vocalist Sean Killian about the controversy about the "Torture Tactics" track deletion, among other items - was sold on eBay for a whopping $967.27.

This past summer, Megaforce released a two-disc DVD from VIO-LENCE, entitled "Blood and Dirt". Produced and directed by Jerry Allen of Metallian Productions, "Blood and Dirt" is over three and a half hours long and contains "a ton of live footage spanning the band's entire existence as well as a full-length documentary on the history of the band. Included in the documentary is commentary by all the members of VIO-LENCE (going back to the DEATH PENALTY days) as well as comments by fellow Bay Area thrashers EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN and many others. You also hear from Bay Area historians Ron Quintana and Walter Morgan, as well as legendary band manager Debbie Abono and many others including comments from VIO-LENCE fans themselves.

Former VIO-LENCE and current MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel announced that the DVD will serve as VIO-LENCE's "final release and function as a band. There will be no more re-releases, reunions or re-anything. We had a blast writing and performing for you and once again, wholeheartedly, thank you all for it."

Megaforce Records reissued VIO-LENCE's classic debut album, "Eternal Nightmare", with a live bonus CD in June 2005. The bonus disc was recorded on December 14, 2001 at Slim's in San Francisco and was mixed by Chris Hanson.

MTV.com talked to Machine Head about thier upcoming album, "The Blackening," revealing some new details and insights on it:

When Machine Head needed some extra throats to help supply backup vocals for the track "Clenching the Fists of Dissent," instead of calling up some of his heavy-metal comrades, frontman Robert Flynn bought some booze instead.

"We had a bunch of our fans come down a few weeks ago, and we just had a big party and invited them down to the studio to sing on the record," he explained of the track, which will appear on the band's forthcoming "unconventional" album The Blackening. "It was a really cool night. We just busted out a ton of vodka and a ton of beer and got everybody all hammered. The fans are the reason we're still here. They went out there and made a huge statement when our last record [2003's Through the Ashes of Empires] came out, and proved to the world that we're here for good."

Machine Head have spent the last month in the studio tracking The Blackening, which Flynn said should be out in late March. He called the album, which the band began writing material for more than a year ago, its "most ambitious" one to date.

"We really didn't want to play it safe on this record," he explained. "We kind of came back from the dead with Through the Ashes, and the safest thing we could've done would've been to just stay in [that] vein and try to keep that formula because it worked last time. Not that there was a formula really. We just started writing and the music that we were writing just started going in this far more complex, intricate and layered direction. It's not like we sat there and intentionally did it. It just kind of [happened]. Pretty soon we ended up having 10-minute-long songs. But the thing that's really cool about it is, we're not just jamming on three riffs for 10 minutes. This is molten riffage — just 20, 30 crushing riffs per song."

Flynn said Machine Head were on a Rush kick (particularly 1977's A Farewell to Kings) during the writing of The Blackening, and even took a few cues from the Canadian prog-rock icons.

"The one thing that they did is that they'd have these long songs that constantly had a continuing theme throughout them," he said. "The songs always reverted back to this one melody or this one hook — and that kept it in the context of a song so that ultimately, it wasn't just riff soup for 10 minutes. It kind of had some things that took you on a journey and then brought you back to something familiar. And that's something that we really started to try and bring into the mix. We'd have these long songs, but then we'd go back to these choruses or these hooks, but in a different context. The more we did it, the more we got excited about it. For whatever reason, it's worked."

Machine Head plan to begin mixing the album next week with Colin Richardson (Fear Factory, Sepultura) and will shoot a video for the album's first single next month. As for touring, Flynn said there's a big announcement on the way. He claims they'll be touring from February through April "on a huge tour we're super-excited about." Flynn said Machine Head will spend most of 2007 on the road.

TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy, former EXODUS vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza have joined forces in a brand new project called DUBLIN DEATH PATROL (DDP). The band, which also features such other San Francisco Bay Area notables as Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, ex-VIO-LENCE) and Willy Langenhuizen (bass; RAMPAGE, LAAZ ROCKIT), is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on its debut album, due in 2007.

Roadrunner veterans Machine Head are currently ensconced inside Sharkbite Studios, in Oakland, California, for the recording of their sixth studio album, The Blackening, which will be released worldwide in spring 2007.

Regarding the long awaited follow-up to 2004's critically acclaimed Through the Ashes of Empires, vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn states: "This is the most ambitious thing we have ever attempted. We all challenged ourselves and each other to write a record that pushed the boundaries of complexity and technical structure. The nature of what is happening in the world led to a darker, bleaker album in every sense."

Machine Head entered Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA on August 21st to begin recording their next album entitled "The Blackening." Tentative song titles for the effort, set for release in early 2007, currently include 'Clenching The Fists Of Dissent', 'Aesthetics Of Hate', 'Halo', 'The Beautiful Mourning', 'Now I Lay Thee Down', 'Slanderous Love', 'Wolves' and 'A Farewell To Arms'.

Machine Head have posted a making-of video for their new album, The Blackening. The video, which can be seen at the media section of the band's official site, or on YouTube.com, here. The video is the first of a series of behind-the scenes voyeurisms of Machine Head recording the album, and is called The Blackening Sessions 1.

The Blackening is due out in early 2007 through Roadrunner, with frontman Robert Flynn acting as Producer and Paul Brown, who has worked with the band over the years returning to create the album artistry. Some tentative song titles for The Blackening include "Clenching the Fists of Dissent", "Aesthetics of Hate", "Halo", "The Beautiful Mourning", "Now I Lay Thee Down", "Slanderous Love", "Wolves" and "A Farewell to Arms". More...

Dave McClain, drummer of Machine Head is on reportedly to be 'on fire' at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland CA, tracking no less than 6 out of the 8 songs in one day for the new album, including two tracks of 10 minutes each.

Dave was ready to strangle the producer after days and days of trying out a multitude of drum kits, heads, skins and different combinations. The band really felt strongly about having real drum tones on this record, preferring them over the overly triggered drum sound that is so prevalent in metal today. Preferring to mix in some of that triggered sound into the real tones, Rob Flynn comments that, "Sure, you gotta have a little bit in there - a bit in the kick, blend some in with the snare, but man, real drums sound fucking awesome when you get 'em dialed in." It is argued that there is no comparison for a real drum tone, with triggers often leaving listeners bored from listening fatigue (listening to the same sound over and over). It seems that the preparation time and this method is serving the new record well, Rob is especially pleased, "we got the sickest drum tones EVER…he's killing it SO hard. Drum magazine editors take note... your new king is here, and his name is Dave McClain!"

Machine Head's new record 'The Blackening' is set for release in early 2007.

"Bay Area metal titans Machine Head are set to enter Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA on Monday, August 21st to record their newly titled upcoming album, The Blackening.

Vocalist/guitarist Robert Flynn will be returning to the producer's chair for the band's sixth studio album, with Mark Keaton once again handling engineering duties. Longtime Machine Head collaborator Colin Richardson (Machine Head, Cannibal Corpse, Trivium, Bullet For My Valentine) will also be returning to mix the record alongside Flynn this October in London.

"Words can't really describe how excited we are to get into the studio and record this record," exclaims drummer Dave McClain. "The shows that we just played on the Sounds of the Underground tour were as amazing as we'd hoped they'd be, the raw energy and excitement level of our fans right now is just incredible, we're fired up!"

Tentative song titles for The Blackening, set for release in early 2007, currently include 'Clenching The Fists Of Dissent', 'Aesthetics Of Hate', 'Halo', 'The Beautiful Mourning', 'Now I Lay Thee Down', 'Slanderous Love', 'Wolves' and 'A Farewell To Arms'. More...

During Machine Head's last show in St Paul Minnesota for the Sounds of The Underground Tour, Orion, Seth and Nergal from Behemoth, Matt from Trivium and Doug from Terror were invited onstage for a crunching rendition of 'Davidian'. Behemoth did their characteristic simultaneous windmills, and sang along for the chorus.

Says Behemoth frontman, Nergal,

"I watched their set every day and the way these guys embrace the energy is unspeakable! Also, Rob & Co. played a new song and fuck me, its the best thing theyve made ever: fast and fuckin furious. It was a privilege to share the stage with one of the most incredible metal bands out there. The tour is not over yet, but I can already say that this was my absolute highlight".

A short video clip of the performance is available for viewing from the main MySpace page. Behemoth are now in Vancouver recovering from their Canadian show, anxious to rip up the crowds once again.

MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel has posted the following message on the band's official forum:

"Just got home yesterday from our week-long stint on the Sounds of the Underground tour and I'd like to thank all of you who made it out and rocked with us. Also thanks to all the bands, crews, production crew and organizers for having us and making us feel welcome.

"A big 'Fuck Yeah!' to our home base for killing it in Mountain View last week. We hadn't played here in almost two years and although it was a short set, it was far and away the best MACHINE HEAD Bay Area show since I joined. Celebrated with the CANNIBAL CORPSE guys after the gig and learned they were HUGE VIO-LENCE fans. George and Rob proceeded to play 'Eternal Nightmare' and sing every word. YES!!!!!!

"So cool to see bands from all ends of the spectrum going over so well. From TERROR to BEHEMOTH, GWAR to IN FLAMES, and TRIVIUM to CANNIBAL CORPSE, all were killin' it.

"Kinda strange walking into the Eagle's Ballroom in Milwaukee. I hadn't been in that room since Robb [Flynn, MACHINE HEAD frontman] and I played the Metalfest in '88 [with VIO-LENCE]. The set-up was different but it definitely brought up some memories for me. I know re-joining with him had brought back some of that but this was a little different. It made me appreciate the circle that I'd travelled a little more. As for the show? Sound in that big room always sucks but the crowd ruled. One of the best shows of the six.

"Of the five songs we played a night, I've heard the most comments on two. 'Bay of Pigs' and 'Aesthetics of Hate'. The latter is a new song from our forthcoming album. It's not that hard to get metal fans pissed off about a columnist dissing Dimebag and his fans. But after Robb would give his intro speech, it was amazing watching them turn that anger into huge circle pits and singing words to a song they'd never heard. Which is OK, because I don't know them either.

"This month we start recording the as-of-now untitled next album. I just call it #6. Still smoothing out some rough edges but what we have I'm extremely proud of. I'm not one to go off on 'Heavier than blah-blah-blah!!!!' and 'Crushes your these-and those!!!!' but I will say that fans of what Dave McClain calls 'just fuckin' metal' will be digging this new material. Traces of MEGADETH, PRIEST, TERROR, MERCYFUL FATE, OLD SLAYER, VIO-LENCE, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, TOOL, LAMB OF GOD, but mostly MACHINE HEAD, will make this album, this bands best from a musicianship standpoint. Lotsa McClain killer double-bass and crazy fills. Lotsa guitar solos by both of us and some harmonies as well. So stoked to get recorded."

MACHINE HEAD will enter Sharkbite studios in Oakland, California the second week of August to begin recording their long-awaited follow-up to 2003's "Through the Ashes of Empires", tentatively due in early 2007 via Roadrunner Records. Production duties will once again be handled by the band's frontman, Robert Flynn, with assistance from Mark Keaton. Mixing sessions will be taken care of by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, NAPALM DEATH). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Aesthetics of Hate", "Halo", "The Beautiful Mourning" and "Now I Lay Thee Down".

MACHINE HEAD will enter Sharkbite studios in Oakland, California the second week of August to begin recording their long-awaited follow-up to 2003's Through the Ashes of Empires, tentatively due in early 2007. Production duties will once again be handled by the band's frontman Robert Flynn with assistance from Mark Keaton. Mixing sessions will be taken care of by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, NAPALM DEATH). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Aesthetics of Hate", "Halo", "The Beautiful Mourning" and "Now I Lay Thee Down".

MACHINE HEAD kicked off their participation as part of the Sounds of the Underground tour yesterday in Mountain View, California. Remaining dates include:

Machine Head have posted a preview of what to expect from their new album online here. The band are plotting to enter the studio next month to officially begin tracking the effort with band frontman/guitarist Robert Flynn handling the production, while Colin Richardson (Fear Factory, Chimaira) has signed on to mix.

Machine Head plan to start recording new material in August, according to a post by drummer Dave McClain on the band's Web site. "A few more songs to go until the writing process is completed," he wrote. "The freedom and drive we have on this album is far exceeding what we were doing on [2003's Through the Ashes of Empires]. Being able to take our time without a deadline ... has been priceless. If I could describe the songs in one word it would have to be 'angry.' I guess when you're living in times like these, it's hard not to be pissed off, and the music and lyrics are definitely a product of the anger we're all feeling."

Machine Head, Converge, Vision of Disorder, Horse the Band and other special guests have been added to select dates on the Sounds of the Underground tour, featuring As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Gwar, Terror, The Black Dahlia Murder, Behemoth, the Chariot, Through the Eyes of the Dead and Evergreen Terrace.

The tour, which represents some of the best independent-minded music available today, begins appropriately over the Independence Day holiday week, on July 8 in Cleveland and runs through August 12 winding up in Universal City, California.

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robert Flynn has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"What's up fuckers! How the hell's it goin'? The mighty MACHINE HEAD are doing fucking splendid these days. Been hanging out at home for a while now. After touring so long, it's pretty nice. Connecting with friends, drinking some beers (Pete's Wicked Ales are the shit!), hitting the weights, enjoying / complaining about the heaviest rain the Bay Area has seen in the last 100 years, getting out to a bunch of shows, it's been sweet.

"Got out to see CHILDREN OF BODOM and GOD FORBID Saturday and then went to our boys CHIMAIRA the next night. GOD FORBID killed it, as usual. They are such a good fucking band, but the big surprise for me was BODOM. Goddamn, those motherfuckers can play!!! The keyboard player was fucking ridiculous!!! And even though the guitar player [Alexi Laiho] flips his hair WAY too much, that guy can SHRED... holy shit! It's good shred too — tasty, not the fucking WHACK-ASS arpeggio overkill that so many of these metal-come-latelys are doing to death. I was a little jealous of him actually — he's one of those guys born with 'shredder fingers' (long, skinny fingers perfect for shredding). Me, on the other hand (no pun intended), I got blessed with friggin' sausage fingers, but we make the best with what we got, right? I got the wrist, man, the WRIST!!!

"CHIMAIRA were, quite frankly, AWESOME. First time seeing 'em with [returning drummer] Andols [Herrick] in a few years and he was fuckin' RAD. I always thought [Kevin] Talley was a GREAT drummer, but Andols is just 'them.' Adam [Duce, MACHINE HEAD bassist] and I got up and jammed 'Pure Hatred' with 'em, and we had a fuckin' BLAST.

"Metal is definitely on a huge upswing right now. It's pretty darn cool, but one thing I noticed at both shows, and even the IN FLAMES show a month or so back, is an alarming amount of... I don't know what to call 'em... 'scenesters' coming out. People who don't know jack shit about these bands, don't know the words, don't know the songs, don't know shit, they're just there to 'be seen' and look cool hanging out by the bar in their brand new, youth small reissue RATT t-shirt. In quite a hilarious example, IN FLAMES brought some 'fan' up on stage to sing a song off of 'Clayman' (!), and the dumb-ass didn't know ONE FUCKING WORD to the song!! What up with that?!?! Go back to your TAKING BACK SUNDAY shows, scenesters.

MTV News spoke with members of some 30 hard rock and metal bands about the Dimebag they remember. They told MTV how much he'd meant to them, they shared fond memories and spoke of the impact he made on their lives and their music. Here are several excerpts from the article:

David Draiman - frontman, Disturbed: "During our second Ozzfest, we were holed up in Dallas for about two or three days ... hanging out at Dime's place — it was an eclectic house. There's all kinds of Pantera memorabilia and Dimebag memorabilia all over the place. But you could never make the mistake of falling asleep at Dime's. He'd wake you up the way he always did: with firecrackers. He'd always set off an entire chain of firecrackers not two inches from my head. One time ... Dime took us to a strip club where we all judged a bikini contest. There was never a wrong time in the day for Dime to hit a strip club. ... Dime was just this character who was very easy to love. He didn't have a bad bone in his body, and was ready to give you the shirt off his back at all times. It was his mission in life to make sure every single moment you spent with him was the best moment of your life. He was selfless."

Zakk Wylde - frontman, Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society: "Whenever you were around Dime, there was never a boring moment. He was the coolest guy on the planet. He was an even better person than he was a guitar player, if that's even possible. Whenever me and him would hook up, forget about it, bro. We'd always have to have a spare kidney, liver and pancreas on ice."

Brian Fair - frontman, Shadows Fall: "Dime seemed to have a real problem with the clock on our tour bus. It all started with his tour manager trying to tell him it was time to leave. ... We were having a good old time and Dime didn't want to go to bed. So, as soon as he was told it was time to leave, he grabbed the clock off of the wall and screams at the top of his lungs, 'There is no time!' and he smashed his hand right through it. The clock was made of glass and metal, and shrapnel flew everywhere. He went through three clocks on our bus like that. Anytime anyone tried to tell him it was time to go, he'd destroy the clock. He didn't want to end the party — he wanted it to keep going. We kept replacing the clock because we wanted to see what happened next."

Roadrunner Records is running a contest where the winner will receive a pair of tickets to Roadrunner United Live, which is set to take place December 15th at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square in NYC. Click here to enter.

The show will feature a RR United 'house band' comprised of Joey Jordison (Slipknot) - drums, Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) - lead guitar, Dino Cazares (ex- Fear Factory, Brujeria) - rhythm guitar, and Adam Duce (Machine Head) - bass and is shaping up to be a defining event in Hard Rock history.

Special guests, including past and present Roadrunner artists and other metal icons, will join the band onstage to play 20 classic Roadrunner tunes along with a few choice cuts from The All Star Sessions .